Reincarnated as the Only Male in an All-Girls Magic Academy!-Chapter 16: OP Cheat!

He could poke at the threads and even tug them slightly, but the range was frustratingly short.

He couldn't even form a decent connection between threads to cause an actual reaction in the world.

No fireballs, no light flashes, no gravity-defying tricks. Just... gentle twitches in reality that looked cool but did absolutely nothing.

Still, that didn't mean it was useless.

Ren noted the properties of the nearby threads. Some pulsed with heat. Others vibrated gently like the hum of lightning. Some even felt cold and slippery, almost like water.

He could distinguish between different elements based on how the threads felt when he touched them other than their colors.

That was a huge breakthrough already since it was too difficult to guess what a thread was based off its extra specific hue.

But even more interesting was that most of the threads didn't feel like elemental energy at all.

They shimmered with concepts. Emotions. Intentions. One cluster nearby felt like "hunger," and another distant one like "loyalty." He made a mental note of that.

Then his mind wandered back to the girl named Lia—the crazy one who had tossed a literal fireball at his face the night before while he was trying to bathe in peace.

How had she done that? She wasn't even. weaver apprentice at that time, was she? Yet her fireball was big enough to light a fireplace for a week!

Ren narrowed his eyes. That meant there had to be a trick.

Either she had some tool or artifact that helped her cheat the range... or—more likely—her mental sea was already stronger than most.

He scribbled that down mentally in his "Ask Later" list and moved on.

Suddenly, a loud clap echoed across the hall, drawing everyone's attention back to the beautiful instructor standing in the center stage.

She looked calm and elegant, her every motion smooth like water flowing over polished stone. Her brown eyes scanned the crowd, and her soft voice carried power that hushed the entire room instantly.

"Well done, everyone," she said, smiling like a proud aunt after a family dinner, "you've all now touched the Loom. That makes you official weaver apprentices."

There was a collective cheer from the more excited students. Ren simply nodded to himself.

"However," she continued, holding up a hand, "let's be clear. You are only apprentices. At this stage, you cannot truly 'weave' anything.

"Your senses are limited to your immediate space. You cannot create stable effects. Your range is tiny, and the threads you can interact with are few. This is normal."

Ren hummed thoughtfully. That lined up exactly with what he'd discovered on his own.

"But," the instructor said, and her voice took on a sharper edge, "as you grow, so will your mental sea. The stronger your mind becomes, the further your reach into the Loom.

"Adepts can sense and manipulate threads within five to ten meters. Masters can do so across entire buildings. Grandmasters—entire battlefields. But Supremes?"

She paused, letting the silence stretch.

"Supreme Weavers can manipulate threads across several kilometers. With a single thought, they can summon storms, shift gravity, bend reality."

Ren's eyes widened, a chill running down his spine. That... was insane. If someone could reach that far into the Loom, then all bets were off.

A Supreme could crush a city just by weaving a few massive threads of destruction together. Or they could save one, altering the threads of disease, drought, or despair.

He felt a deep pull inside him—an old hunger reawakened. The hunger for knowledge, power, control.

He wanted that. He needed it.

Then the instructor waved her hand and summoned a shimmering illusion of a tall mountain.

"There are six major ranks in your journey," she said. "Weaver Apprentice. Weaver Adept. Weaver Master. Grandmaster. Supreme Weaver. And finally... Domain Weaver."

Gasps echoed through the class. Even Ren leaned forward slightly.

"Domain Weavers do not simply interact with the Loom," she said, eyes glowing faintly now, "they control it. Their presence reshapes the very threads of the world. A Domain Weaver standing still can command an entire battlefield without lifting a hand."

Ren was practically vibrating now. Oh, yes. That was what he wanted. He didn't just want to weave threads. He wanted to own them. Command them.

To stand one day at the center of battle and with a flick of his fingers, reduce entire legions to ash and dust.

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"But none of that matters," the instructor said, breaking him out of his mental dream montage, "if your mind collapses before it can even hold the Loom properly. That brings us to the most important foundation for every weaver; your Mental Sea."

She conjured another illusion—this time a vast ocean with floating golden islands on top. "Your Mental Sea is your spirit's anchor.

"The deeper, clearer and more stable it is, the more of the Loom you can perceive and manipulate.

The higher its evolution, the better the level of the Loom you can access as well. Strengthening it is your first priority."

Ren nodded. It made sense. Everything he'd felt earlier, from the strain in his head to the bursting sensation between his brows, it had all been because his mental sea had expanded and touched the Loom for the first time.

It was the bridge between his mind and the threads of reality.

And now, he could evolve it and make it more unique and powerful, effectively putting him ahead of his peers.

His cheat was extremely OP!